Donghae Line

A cab ride up Korea's east coast from Pohang to Gangneung on the Donghae Line, completed in 2025, past fishing towns and beaches to Jeongdongjin by the sea.

The route

The Donghae Line follows Korea's east coast north from Busan. For decades its northern half was missing: there was no railway between Pohang and Samcheok, so trains between Busan and the Gangwon coast had to take long inland routes. Work on the gap began in the late 2000s. The first part, Pohang to Yeongdeok, opened on 26 January 2018, and the rest, from Yeongdeok to Samcheok, on 1 January 2025, completing a new line of 166.3 km after more than fifteen years of construction.

Because traffic forecasts were low, the line was first planned as a single-track railway without electrification, mainly for freight. In 2019 it was chosen as a national balanced-development project, which added electrification along its whole length; north of Pohang it is still single track. Trains from Pohang to Gangneung use the new line as far as Samcheok, then the short Samcheok Line to Donghae, electrified and linked into through services in 2025, and finally 45.1 km of the Yeongdong Line from Donghae to Gangneung.

The 2025 opening added twelve stations between Yeongdeok and Samcheok, among them Hupo, Pyeonghae, Uljin and Jukbyeon; Uljin county alone now has seven stations on the line. For the first time the coastal towns of northern Gyeongsangbuk-do have passenger trains, and Busan, Pohang and Gangneung are joined by a single railway along the East Sea. Korail and local governments expect it to help both tourism and freight on a coast that had long been far from the rail network.

What you will see

This video was filmed from the driver's cab of a Nuriro train, Korail's regional electric train. Leaving Pohang, a steel and port city, the train runs north on the single track through low hills and farmland to Yeongdeok, a county known across Korea for its snow crab. This first part opened in 2018, and its stations were the first in this stretch of coast.

North of Yeongdeok comes the section opened in 2025. The line passes Hupo, Pyeonghae, Uljin and Jukbyeon, small harbour and market towns of Uljin county, between forested hills and the sea, which comes into view now and then on the right. After crossing into Gangwon Province the train reaches Samcheok, an old cement and coal town, and turns onto the Samcheok Line for the few kilometres to Donghae.

At Donghae the train joins the Yeongdong Line, which from Mukho northwards runs close to the shore. Watch for Jeongdongjin, where the platform sits right beside the beach; it is often described as the railway station closest to the sea in Korea and became famous through the 1995 television drama Sandglass, which brought passenger trains back to the station. The final stretch turns inland to Gangneung.

Riding it for real

Since January 2025 Korail has run ITX-Maum trains between Bujeon in Busan and Gangneung, and ITX-Maum and Nuriro trains between Daegu and Gangneung, all over this coastal route. When the line opened, the ITX-Maum took 4 hours 48 minutes from Gangneung to Busan, and the trip from Uljin to Pohang took 1 hour 8 minutes.

Because most of the line is single track, trains wait for each other at passing stations, and services are far less frequent than on the main lines out of Seoul. Seats on all of these trains can be reserved on Korail's website and app, and the Korail Pass covers them for foreign visitors. Check Korail for current timetables and fares before you travel.

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